UM Magazine June 2016

June 2016

EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM -----p4

Ton Hartlief heads for Supreme Court of the NetherlandsPortrait of an academic at heart-----p16

on education and research at Maastricht University

Roadblocks to peace / Debate between Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors ----- p27

2UMagazine / October 20152UMagazine / June 2016

In celebration of Maastricht Universitys 40th anniversary this year, video portraits have been made of the six surviving former rectors of the university. In this issue youll find an abridged version of the interviews with Job Cohen and Hans Philipsen.

In August 2015, alum Dirk Janssen was appointed as the Dutch ambassador to Panama. The ambassadors main objective is to help Dutch companies capitalise on the opportu-nities offered by Panama. I have to be able to talk about anything, from football to art.

Valentina and Mariana Mazzucato are both leading scholars in their fields of research: migration and the economics of innovation, respectively. Valentina, professor at Maastricht University, recently received the 500th prestigious Consolidator Grant awarded by the European Research Council, while Mariana, professor at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, gained worldwide acclaim with her latest book The Entrepreneurial State.

Further

04Leading in Learning

Harm Hospers: EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM

-----16

Portrait Ton Hartlief: The young veteran

-----20

International Maastricht University hosts the

annual conference of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN)

-----22

Spread The making of: Artwork by Florentijn

Hofman at Oxfordlaan 55 -----24

Professor / Student Ron Heeren and Karolina Skraskova:

A scientific crush

30Euregion

Coen Stehouwer: Tackling the diabetes epidemic

-----38

AlumniLeonr Orbn de Lengyelfalva: Human resource navigator

-----40

University FundNews -----

10, 11, 35 and 42News-----

Talented photographers were asked to come up with an image relating to one of our cover stories. Hugo Thomassen studied photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht. He has been working as an independent photographer since 2001, specialising in fashion photography and portraits of well-known (and unknown) Dutch people. For me, photography is about bringing together light and shadow.

www.hugothomassen.eu

Cover Hugo Thomassen

June 2016

EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM -----p4

Ton Hartlief heads for Supreme Court of the NetherlandsPortrait of an academic at heart-----p16

on education and research at Maastricht University

Roadblocks to peace / Debate between Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors ----- p27

-----p 7

Alum Dirk Janssen

Former rectors look back on 40 years of Maastricht University

-----p 12

---------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------

/ Sisters doing what they love /

-----p 36

3June 2016 / UMagazine

For the last six months, the Presidency of the European Union has been in Dutch hands. This is the twelfth time we have had the privilege, but it will become increasingly rare: the previous Dutch Presidency was in 2004, while the next one will be in 2030 assuming, that is, that the EU still exists! Fortunately, the logo hadnt changed, which meant older participants, like myself, could recycle the tie they received back in 2004. A win-win situation: cutting costs for me and for the Dutch authorities. Not that this rather unique example of logo reuse, resisting as it were 12 years of progress in style and design, is in any way illustrative of a lack of progress in the policy debates surrounding higher education, innovation and science; the three topics discussed at meetings I attended. On the contrary.

The Dutch Presidency, with its Amsterdam Call for Action on Open Science, was dedicated to achieving a commitment to open access among European member states by 2020. For me though, open science represents a much more fundamental transformation of science at the global level. With the digitisation of science characterised, as in other areas, by the notion of disruption, it would not be far-fetched to talk of an Uberisation of science.

Science has traditionally been carried out in well-pro-tected institutions such as universities and academies, most of which have survived centuries of internal and external challenges, including wars and revolutions. Scientific progress emerged from open debate, the practice of independent peer review and the dissemi-nation of knowledge in accessible publications that recognised individuals contributions.

But times have changed. First, in terms of the production of research: the last 12 years have seen the number of academics who are active internationally roughly double. As the most prestigious journals are more or less fixed in number, this growth in human research capital has created major bottlenecks in the publication of research output. And second, in terms of both the content and the timing of research output: the dramatically increased competition leads, not surprisingly, to strategic behaviour on the part of scientists, who begin to focus on the research most likely to score in terms of results and output, avoiding riskier research that is less likely to get published.

Open science, with its emphasis on access to and transparency of data, may provide a useful antidote. It is the notion of open science that underlies the emergence of publicly accessible pre-prints in a growing number of disciplines. Further, open science facilitates new avenues for testing the reproducibility of research. It also enables scientists to share their data and results with the world more quickly and easily than ever before; consider David OConnor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who posts a daily, online update on his lab experiments on the Zika virus.

In short, open science is challenging not just existing publishers with open access, but all of us.

Text Jos CortenraadPhotography Philip Driessen

/ EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM /

4UMagazine / June 2016


Establishing the EdLab was no easy task, but a sense of optimism now permeates Building X, on the site of the former Tapijn barracks. Educational innovation used to happen on a project-by-project basis, says Hospers. So its important that we now have our own place with our own people and resources. A physical institute, where we hold meetings, give workshops and share knowledge and ideas. Weve been at it for 12 months now and Ive been pleasantly surprised by the dynamics. All six faculties have come forward with different plans and ideas more than we can deal with. Theres interest from administrators and academics, not to mention students. They of course are keen to know whether opting for Problem-Based Learning was the right choice, and whether it still meets the demands of the labour market.

CommitmentA Maastricht native, Hospers lacks neither

enthusiasm nor optimism. He has made undeniable progress on the site where, until the turn of the century, soldiers were stationed to guard the city. Its too early for concrete results, but the faculties have shown their commitment over the past year. All six deans have pledged to implement proven innovations, and every faculty has appointed at least one liaison.

The EdLab institute is set to become the driving force behind educational innovation at Maastricht University. Having spent the past year making connections and charting the terrain at UM, the institute has, according to EdLab director and UM vice rector Harm Hospers, demonstrated its right to exist. The number of ideas and proposals is overwhelming. EdLab is a hotbed of innovation. And innovation, as you know, is never done.

We organise meetings where they can come together to discuss ideas. Often they bring to the table existing plans from their own faculties, but then why should they all have to reinvent the wheel? Every programme is involved in the quest for innovation. Everyone is concerned with whether our brand of PBL is keeping up with the latest technological developments and increasing internationalisation. Does our education system do justice to the great diversity of cultures here in Maastricht? Together well find the answers.

PillarsThe work of the EdLab rests on three pillars.

The first one is educational innovation, for example in terms of exams and assessments. How does a tutor weigh up the individual contributions of different students working together on a group assignment? In practice all students pretty much get the same mark. Thats something that should change. The same holds for examining written work and giving >>

Leading in Learning

/ EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM /

constructive feedback on theses. Not everything can or should be assessed by way of multiple-choice questions, but marking written work is very labour intensive and often involves two different assessors. It may be possible to automate this digitally somehow. Were looking for smart solutions.

The different ideas are discussed in working groups, which then may or may not come up with a project proposal. Hospers has been particularly pleased by the openness of these discussions. The differences between programmes fade into the background and you see that all faculties are facing the same issues. Sometimes one faculty has made more progress than another with a given innovation. And thats fine after all, knowledge exchange is one of the EdLabs objectives. Im seeing closer collaboration and increasing enthusiasm, and thats an excellent basis to build on.

ExcellentThe second pillar of the EdLab focuses on the

universitys excellence programmes. UM has three programmes for excellent students: Honour+, MaRBLe and PREMIUM. Our plan is to bring these students together at the EdLab to collaborate on cross-faculty projects. Educational Services make up the third pillar: Here were talking about training programmes for educators in areas like examination and assessment, leadership and cultural diversity. Innovation also means equipping staff with specific tools; EdLab is able to shed light on the needs of UM staff. Participants come up with their own ideas, and we translate these from subject-specific into broader plans.

Standing upFor students all these plans are, with the exception

of the excellence programmes, not yet overly visible. The point is to ensure that were providing the best possible education, says Walter Jansen, coordinator of innovation and one of the EdLabs six permanent staff. Were also involved with accreditations, with trying to find the right balance between the different types of

exams and the learning objectives. The average student isnt much interested in that. That being said, were also experimenting with innovations that directly concern students standing up during tutorials, for instance. Research suggests that this helps people stay alert and active for longer. We want to find out whether its really true in practice.

This, according to Hospers, also falls under the umbrella of innovation. The EdLab is open-minded; we never just dismiss an idea out of hand. My hope is that in four years the EdLab will be a place where administrators, teachers and students work together towards innovation. Only if youre constantly innovating can you improve.



Research and society

/ Sisters doing what they love /

Text Jolien LinssenPhotography Sacha Ruland

Professor in the Economics of Innovation Mariana Mazzucatowith her sister professor of Globalisation and Development

Valentina Mazzucato >>


Growing up as the daughters of a scientist their father Ernesto was a physicist at Princeton Universitys Plasma Physics Laboratory it might seem logical that both Valentina and Mariana opted for academic careers. Looking back, they acknowledge that the Mazzucato household was the perfect breeding ground for their future work. What definitely influenced me was the fact that both of our parents were concerned about social issues and critical in their thinking, Mariana says. So wed be watching the TV news when I was little, and my father would always comment on it. We werent from a family that, say, just accepted how the news was transmitted to you.

And our mother was very socially engaged as well, trying in all sorts of ways to help people in the commu-nity who were less privileged, Valentina adds. Thats something I mentioned in my inaugural lecture, when I thanked her for teaching me empathy. I believe you can only really do the kinds of research we do if youre able to place yourself in other peoples shoes and see the world from their perspective.

Migration research That perspective is, for Valentina, the perspective of migrants. Her latest work revolves around transnational families; that is, families whose nuclear members are living in different countries. Im interested in understanding how people do family across great distances, and what factors affect the way theyre able to be family. What kinds of care activities do mothers and fathers engage in when theyre thousands of kilometres away from their children? And vice versa: who is doing the proximate care of the children?

Valentina and Mariana Mazzucato are both leading scholars in their fields of research: migra-tion and the economics of innovation, respectively. Valentina, professor at Maastricht University, recently received the 500th prestigious Consolida-tor Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), while Mariana, professor at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, gained worldwide acclaim with her latest book The Entrepreneurial State. Judging by these sisters, if theres a key to success, its enthusiasm.

Her research, focusing on migration between Africa and Europe, shows that families can be transnational in many positive ways. Nonetheless, certain conditions make transnational families problematic for children, and these are closely tied to the conditions in which the parents in receiving countries are living. If parents are undocumented, have unstable jobs or are unemployed, this has direct psychological effects on the wellbeing of the children back home, she explains. I want to make clear how policies in one country can have repercussions at the very basic family level in another country something which policymakers, who usually think at the nation-state level, often fail to take into account.

Valentina intends to take this one step further by studying the mobility trajectories of young people from Ghana, who either stay in their home country or accompany their parents to Europe. What they have in common is that they are all very mobile, constantly moving between different countries. Although this might have a positive impact on their life chances, existing policies try to limit the kind of mobility that children engage in since theres an implicit idea that mobility is bad for children, she says. But this has never been researched. No one has even conceptuali-sed child mobility. With the support of a large ERC grant, its up to her to break new ground.

Woman on a mission It definitely serves as recognition of her very different, pioneering work, Mariana says of her sisters grant. But for me its like icing on the cake. The cake, I think, is great. Even if she hadnt got the grant, it wouldnt affect how I think about her research. What I

Valentina Mazzucato


admire is her engagement. Valentina, in turn, describes Mariana as a woman on a mission. She has battles to fight and she tries to change the world. Thats very inspiring.

Mariana rose to renown in recent years with her critique of the market failure framework in economics, which posits that public policy and in particular innovation are the key drivers of long-term growth. Within this framework, the role of the state is limited to fixing existing markets when failures occur. This is, she argues, an inaccurate description of reality, for public intervention around the world has actually far exceeded this, be it in the United States, China or Germany.

A wealth-creation process involves a lot of contribu-tors, from workers to different types of public organisations and businesses, explains Mariana. And yet the framework we use describes only some of these agents as really dynamic and creative, and the other ones, including the public sector, are seen as just being there to facilitate, to de-risk, to administer and to regulate expenditure. This has led to a socialisation of risks and a privatisation of rewards. In this manner, our biased way of thinking about public sector intervention fuels problematic innovation policies as well as inequality.

Curiosity The success of her latest book The Entrepre-neurial State has enabled Mariana to spread her message across the globe. With her sister, she shares the desire not only to understand certain problema-tics, but also to communicate these insights to a

Valentina Mazzucato (1965) studied at Williams College and Michigan State University in the USA. She lived in Africa for over 20 years, where she worked for various international development organisations in the field of agricultural develop-ment. She obtained her PhD from Wageningen University in 2000 and is now professor of Globali- sation and Development at the Maastricht University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Mariana Mazzucato (1968) studied at Tufts University, Massachusetts, before obtaining her masters and PhD from the New School for Social Research in New York. She has held academic positions at the University of Denver, London Business School, Open University and Bocconi University. She is currently professor in the Economics of Innovation at the Science Policy Research Unit of the University of Sussex.

broader public, including policymakers, and thus make an impact in the real world. Even though were both in academia, were not there in very traditional ways, says Valentina. Of course we want to publish in academic journals and be recognised by our communi-ty. But thats not our main goal. Our curiosity is what drives us.

This is also reflected in their career trajectories. Valentina, who never planned on becoming an academic, ended up doing a PhD because it gave her the opportunity to live and work in Africa. And I did my PhD at a university where when you come out, youre rubber stamped as being a Marxist, Mariana elaborates. But as long as youre doing what youre really interested in, theres no need to worry about these kinds of things. What I tell my kids is not to worry about their careers not as long as youre really doing what you want to do, as well as doing your best at it. Valentina agrees. In one word, I say: enthusi-asm. If you can listen to yourself and do the things that excite you, then youll be fine.

So is there anything the Mazzucato sisters disagree about, any area in which they differ from each other? Not much, is seems. Everyone tells us we look alike, and I think were also similar in how we both have a gut instinct for people who are honest. Neither of us are bullshitters, Mariana laughs. Valentina: Well, I do think shes more the talker and Im more the listener. Mariana: Really? I dont think thats true. Lets talk about it!


Professor Alexander Sack from the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience received a prestigious Vici grant for his research into brain stimulation. He was one of 32 researchers to receive the 1.5 million grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Recipients can use these funds to conduct research and build up their own research groups over the course of five years.

As professor of Functional Brain Stimulation and Neurocognitive Psychology, Sack received the Vici grant for his research project entitled Stimulating! Cognitive improvement through brain stimulation. Attention and memory are vital cognitive skills, which are disrupted in many people after a stroke or in the case of a psycho-pathological disorder. The study will bring together information about individual brain networks and brainwaves in an effort to develop new techniques for brain stimula-tion and thereby improve human cognition.

Sack was previously awarded an NWO Veni (2003) and Vidi (2006) grant. He also received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2010.


The Executive Board has appointed Anita Jansen as the new dean of the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, effective as of 1 June 2016 for a period of four years. She succeeds Bernadette Jansma, who will take office as the dean of the Faculty of Humani-ties and Sciences (FHS).

Jansen (55) has been professor of Experimen-tal Clinical Psychology at Maastricht University (UM) since 1999. She studied clinical psychology at Utrecht University and obtained her PhD from UM in 1990. In 2011, she received a >1.5 million Vici grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for her research on the psychological predictors of successful weight loss. Jansen has been a member of the NWOs Divisional Board on Social and Behavioural

Sciences since 2014. During her time at UM, she has held various administrative roles, including vice dean and department chair. She won the UM Education Prize in 2001.


Text Annelotte HuiskesPhotography Archive UM and Submedia

Job Cohen (1947) studied law in Groningen and obtained his PhD at Leiden University, where he started his career as an academic. In Maas-tricht, he was appointed professor of Methods and Techniques in 1983, and was dean of the law faculty from 1981 to 1991 and rector magnificus from 1991 to 1993/1995 to 1998. He served briefly

as state secretary in 1993 and in 1998 at the Ministry of Justice. He was mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and leader of the Dutch Labour Party as well as parliamentary group leader in the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012. Today Cohen is, among other things, chair of the Supervisory Board of Wageningen University.

/ Im a better administrator than academic /

In celebration of Maastricht Universitys 40th anniversary this year, video portraits have been made of the six surviving former rectors of the university. You can read an abridged version of two of these interviews in this issue of the magazine; for the full interviews please visit the special anniversary website at www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/jubileum.

These video portraits make use of unique fragments from the signing of the universitys founding charter by Queen Juliana and Sjeng Tans in the Sint Servaaskerk in 1976.

Still from the video


I heard about the official opening in 1976 from my father. He was the rector of Leiden University and chair of the national committee of rectors. As such, he was invited to give a speech at the ceremony in the Sint Servaaskerk. He had trouble, as rector of the oldest university not only in the Netherlands but almost in the world, taking the Limburg initiative seriously. This is the first time Ive seen the images of the opening ceremony; its great to be able to see and hear my father.

I was 32 when I was asked to set up the new law faculty in Maastricht in 1981. Its amazing, being given an opportunity like that at such a young age. Our first 100 students arrived the next year. It was a fantastic time. We had ten staff members, including Karl Dittrich, Cees Flinterman, Ren de Groot and Gerard Mols he was part of the younger generation at the time. Everything was new; ours was the first law programme to work with PBL.

Vic Bonke was succeeded in 1991 by Job Cohen. Cohen served two terms as rector until 1998, interrupted by his appointment as state secretary for Education and Science between 1993 and 1995. It was Maastricht Universitys first rector, the educationalist Wynand Wijnen, who brought Cohen into contact with UM. At the time Cohen was working at Leidens educational re-search centre and found his interest piqued by Problem- Based Learning (PBL). One thing led to another and, in 1981, Cohen moved to Maastricht to establish the law faculty.

I moved my family from Leiden to Maastricht in 1981. In the beginning I barely dared to say a word on the street, because everyone made very clear: youre not from around here, youre from Holland. But over the 20 years I lived in Maastricht, I saw it change from a small city where a lot of French was spoken, and of course the Maastricht dialect, into a city where you can easily speak Dutch and English.

In 1991, after a decade as dean of the law faculty, I became the first rector who wasnt from the medical faculty. One of my motivations was that I felt I was a better administrator than an academic. Our main goal was to help the university grow. The psychology faculty was established during my time in Maastricht, and the European Studies programme. Internationalisation was a big issue. The economics faculty was already recruiting foreign students, which was quite novel at the time.

When I became mayor of Amsterdam, it was a great help that I already had experience dealing with all those professors. People in Amsterdam know and say what they want. The same can be said for professors and politicians. Working with an Executive Board in the public sector thats where Im at my best.


/ The early years were defined by struggle /

Like the former rectors Coen Hemker and Vic Bonke, Hans Philipsen was among the pioneers of Maastricht Uni-versity. He was dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Leiden when he was asked, in 1973, to join a committee looking for suitable profes-sors for the medical faculty in Maastricht. He became so enthusiastic about the inno-vative Problem-Based Learn-ing (PBL) system that he resigned from the commit-tee and put himself forward instead. As someone who knew how to go about set-ting up a faculty, he quickly was elected to the Executive Board and helped to found the health sciences faculty. He served on the Executive Board no fewer than ten years: eight as vice president and two as rector, succee-ding Job Cohen from 1993 to 1995.

Hans Philipsen (1935) studied sociology and anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, where he obtained his PhD in 1968. That year he was appointed professor of Methodology and Techniques of Social Science Research in Leiden. He relocated to Maastricht after being appointed professor of Medical Sociology at the medical faculty in 1974. He was the first chair of the University Council and the first elected member of

the Executive Board from 1976 to 1980, followed by a three-year appointment as founding dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Between 1983 en 1993 he developed and executed research programmes in the Health Sciences, especially in Nursing Science. He served as UM rector from 1993 to 1995, after which he was appointed to the Executive Board as UM vice president. In the last two years, he was vice rector of internationalisation along-side his faculty post.

Text Annelotte HuiskesPhotography Archive UM and Submedia


The main thing I remember about the opening ceremony in the Sint Servaaskerk in 1976 is the ceremony itself. That was a great moment for everyone just starting up a new university was no easy task. Both the staff and the students of medicine took a risk by coming here before the programme was officially accredited. The early years were mainly defined by enthusiasm and hard work but also by struggle. We had to fight for our survival, because the education minister Arie Pais was considering shutting down Maastricht within a decade of its founding due to necessary national budget cuts.

The small-scale PBL system was a reaction to the fact that universities in the 1970s were growing too fast: there were more and more students but not enough lecturers. It developed out of the same spirit that led

/ The early years were defined by struggle /

to the student revolt in Paris; the idea that the times they are a-changin. It was a great challenge, collabo-rating with others here in Maastricht to change the educational system.

I found the position of rector more appealing than that of vice president. As vice president I was mainly involved with finances and human resources, not directly academic policy. Its the rector whose job it is to stand up for education and research. And you have to show your face everywhere, like a sort of mayor. I cant say that was unpleasant.

My main achievement as rector was the adoption of a policy document on internationalisation stipulating, among other things, that the university had to become bilingual. The time was ripe, because the success of Maastricht also had to do with the influx of interna-tional students. We had the advantage of the Maastricht Treaty being signed here in 1991, which meant the whole world had heard of Maastricht. Thats also why we changed the name from Rijksuni-versiteit Limburg to Maastricht University. Limburg of course wasnt so pleased about that.

Now a situation is gradually developing thats similar to what we saw around 1965, with the students and especially the younger teaching staff on the defensive. The emphasis is on research and the number of publications. A kind of business culture is arising to the detriment of education, yet education is the very thing that sets Maastricht apart thats what we should be focusing on. As a relatively small university you cant expect to be among the top 30 research universities in the world. Thats nonsense, a hopeless task.


Portrait

/ The young veteran /

Professor of Private LawTon Hartlief


The first defining moment in my career was a lecture by the renowned professor of Legal History Jan Lokin. It was an Open Day at the University of Gronin-gen and he gave such an inspiring talk about Roman law that I decided on the spot to study law, Hartlief explains. In high school I didnt really know what I wanted to do. I took a career test and it turned out I was analytical and had an affinity for argumentation, so law seemed like a good option.

Initially, however, the programme was disappointing. Criminal law didnt appeal to him; private law was enjoyable, but only became really interesting in the third year, when Hartlief was made a student assistant and came into contact with the academic side of the subject. He recalls that, even as a young boy, he was already keen on writing. I had this romantic image of the scholar sitting behind a desk piled high with books and papers and just writing. And now Im in the fortunate position of having an office just like that here at the law faculty, he says, gesturing around the mountains of paper on his desk and shelves heaving with reference books. This is where I work best, so Im hoping I can still keep this room now Im only part time.

Nose in the books While he enjoyed the student nightlife, Hartlief could be found by day at the faculty, studying. He refrained from joining a student association I dont need all that many friends and on weekends he went back to Terschelling, where he was born and raised, to play football. His father, a sailor for Shell, was often away for months at a time, leaving Ton at home with his mother and younger sister. Like all islanders, they had to commute to the mainland for high school. Ton and his sister boarded during the week with a nice family in Leeuwarden and went home at weekends. You had to find your own way. My sister and I are quite different. In those days she was alternative, a punk girl; compared to her I seemed ordinary. Im a relatively steady person, and where my sister sought attention I tended to keep a low profile. Maybe it also had to do with my being the eldest, and often the only man in the house. He was a fast learner and enjoyed reading, including several parts of Loe de Jongs series on World War II, which his father collected. Loe de Jong was the kind of scholar I had great admiration for. I read some of his books from A to Z, which was strange, seeing as theyre reference books and not intended to be read from cover to cover. If one of my children were to do that now Id strongly advise against it, he laughs. >>

Text Annelotte HuiskesPhotography Arjen Schmitz

In high school I didnt really know what I wanted to do.

Ton Hartlief, professor of Private Law, has been named best teacher by his students in Maastricht and best liability lawyer in the Netherlands by his profes-sional peers. He became a professor in Leiden at the age of just 29, and recently still shy of his 50th birth-day took up one of the highest posts available to a lawyer: advocate general at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. An academic at heart, he remains level- headed: Its all a matter of hard work and a bit of luck. Here he looks back on a successful career.


This brings Hartlief to his own family history. His pa-ternal grandfather, Tedo Hartlief, was in the resistance and one of the prisoners executed during the Nazi massacre at the Woeste Hoeve in March 1945. His grandfather on his mothers side was a forced labourer on the Burma Railway, and she and her mother were held in a Japanese prison camp. It wasnt exactly a taboo at home, but if you didnt ask, it wasnt brought up. Also, my father and I are true northerners: we dont bare our souls all that easily.

Mentor Another pivotal moment in his career was his acquaintance with Chris Brunner, one of the professors he worked with as a student assistant and who would later become his PhD supervisor. Brunner was a big deal in the field of private law. A very interesting man you could talk to for hours. Some days youd bump into him in the corridor in the morning and by mid-after-noon you were still standing around philosophising about all sorts of things. That was an important period during which I learnt a lot. He was my teacher in the classical sense of the word; one of the reasons I find teaching extremely important and take it very serious-ly. As a lecturer you hope, of course, to plant a seed like that yourself now and then.

Teachers may have been important, but chance also played a role. I was close to finishing my thesis when a PhD vacancy opened up. Brunner summoned me and said, Get it done fast theres a spot here for you straight away. Id just turned 22 when I started my research on termination for non-performance; one of the topics Brunner had on his list.

On the move There was no time for dilly-dallying during his PhD, either: in 1993, at the age of 26 and before he had even finished his dissertation, he was offered the post of associate professor in Maastricht. Three years later he moved on again, this time to Leiden to become professor of Civil Law. Leiden had that aura of being

the oldest, biggest and best university, especially when it came to law. So for me that was a great opportuni-ty. But financial cutbacks meant the teaching policy clashed with Hartliefs vision, and, especially after the birth of his first son, the Randstad began to chafe on him. He missed the open spaces and nature. I love birds, shells and plants. I had to cross three highways before I even got to a nature strip there. He returned to Maastricht in 2001.

In recent years, Hartlief has seen the traditional programme in Dutch Law his personal strength squeezed by the focus on European and international law and English-language instruction. And more and more often he catches himself thinking, Ive seen all this before. Thats what happens when you go through everything young: it doesnt take long to feel like a veteran. It was high time, then, for the next step and what a step it is. For a lawyer, it cant get much more prestigious than the public prosecutors office of the Supreme Court. Im pleased about that too of course, but the main motive is being able to apply my academic knowledge in practice.

Problem solving As advocate general, Hartlief will advise the Supreme Court in cases concerning his areas of expertise: private law and, in particular, liability law. A major theme in my field and something Ive been working on for years now is compensation in case of accidental injury, caused by a traffic accident, an accident at work or medical error. As a society we want to protect the

These are the golden years for research on

liability law.


Ton Hartlief (1966) is advocate general at the Supreme Court and part-time professor of Private Law at Maastricht University. From 1996 to 2001 he was professor of Civil Law at Leiden University. He obtained his PhD in 1994 for his dissertation on termina-tion for non-performance. He previously served as editor in chief of the journal Aansprakelijkheid, Verzekering en Schade and as annotator for Ars Aequi and Nederlandse Jurisprudentie. At present he is, among other things, a member of the editorial board of the Nederlands Juristenblad.

victims, but whats the best way to do that social security, insurance or a liability system? Why is there liability protection for certain forms of injury but not for others? If you lose a leg on the operating table the legal consequences are different than if you lose it at work, and different again if it was a traffic accident. And if the accident happens unilaterally because you trip over a doorstep, theres yet another system. Shouldnt we bring all these into line? Where one situ-ation is well protected by the law, someone else with the same injury ends up with nothing.

Also part of Hartliefs remit are damages resulting from terrorism. People can sue bodies and organisa-tions; take Brussels Airport, for example. Was there adequate security to deal with a bombing? Did the government appropriately evaluate the intelligence it received? In this sense these are the golden years for research on liability law. We dont have clear answers to these sorts of questions, and research is needed to examine whether our current laws can provide a solution or whether we should change tack altogether. Thats the kind of puzzle I like. At the Supreme Court

I can work on such questions in a less abstract way, as part of concrete cases. That makes it all the more exciting.

Asked what ultimately drives him, Hartlief shrugs and sighs deeply. Thats a difficult question. Of course I could say something like making the world a better place. Obviously I have opinions on how to improve things, but whether thats what motivates me ... A shrink might say that I place a lot of importance on performing well, or perhaps that Im still trying to please my parents. Could well be the case. But the bottom line is that I just love to analyse and unravel problems.


UM became a member of the WUN just three years ago. By invitation, Paul notes, and thats something were proud of. This network fits us like a glove. Firstly because were keen to partner with top universities from all over the world, but also because the WUN focuses on themes that we in Maastricht see as important too. Consider public health, intercultural cooperation, educational innovation and sustainability global challenges that no university can solve alone. We need to work together.

Network They may be idealistic motives, but they also go hand in hand with UMs business objectives. Right, says Paul. Were launching joint research projects, exploring the options for international masters programmes and gaining access to major knowledge institutes on all continents. And with a network like this, its easier to apply for grants from the European Commission, the World Health Organization and other agencies. The WUN opens many doors.

So why settle for a relatively small network of just 18 universities, not all of which are necessarily among the worlds best? Naturally, the universities of Ghana, Cape Town, Alberta and Maastricht are not compara-ble with Harvard or Yale. But on their own continents, in their own ecosystems, theyre all highly innovative. We can learn a lot from them, and they from us. Think of research on disease prevention, big data or cultural heritage, to name just a few examples. Moreover, the network has short lines of communication. We know one another personally and can make agreements quickly. Thats how it should stay; I see 25 members as the maximum. This small scale also makes it easy to enter into new bilateral partnerships. For example, the FHML is now collaborating with the University of Leeds on an international masters programme in medicine. Obviously our researchers will continue to work with hundreds of other universities worldwide, but the WUN adds that something extra.

It was the first time the conference had been held in mainland Europe: in April, Maastricht University hosted the annual conference of the World-wide Universities Network (WUN). UM president Martin Paul saw it as a prime opportunity to shine the international spotlight on Maastricht. Now were up there alongside Washington, London, New York and Hong Kong as a WUN conference city.

Text Jos CortenraadPhotography Harry Heuts

International

/ We need to face global challenges together /


Themes Paul was approached in 2014 about organising the conference in Maastricht. It was a great opportunity, especially as it coincided with the universitys 40th anniversary. Our condition was that we could come up with a new theme. After internal discussion, we opted for Economics & Sustainability and the International Classroom. We also organised an extensive parallel conference focusing on migration; very topical for Europe and Africa, and enlightening for the American and Asian participants in terms of gaining more insight into Europe. Working together, identifying global problems and contributing to solutions wherever possible; those are the main objectives of the WUN. For Maastricht, it meant hosting more than 500 professors, researchers and academics from all over the world. In that sense, it was a fantastic chance for our city and region to present themselves in a global context.


The making of

Artwork by Florentijn Hofman at Oxfordlaan 55, which houses Scannexus, Biopartners and the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. Hofman, interna-tionally known as the rubber duck artist, designed an artwork to create together with students and staff from Maastricht University. They signed up for the project en masse and, ultimately, 24 students from all over the world were chosen to participate. Hofman collaborated on this project with the photographer Inge Hondebrink, renowned for her photographs of Paralympians in Sydney and London.

1 2

5 6

Photography Loraine Bodewes (1,6) and Dick van Aalst (2,4,5)

Spread


3 4


Text Femke KoolsPhotography Paul van der Veer

Pharmacist Karolina Skraskova /professor Ron Heeren

Professor / student

/ A scientific crush /


Karolina: I felt like an impostor during those first weeks in Rons lab: I shouldnt be here, with all these super clever people striving for the Nobel Prize. But I was happy because I was learning new things.

Ron: She didnt realise she was operating on a similar level. Even as an intern, she was collaborating on other peoples PhD research.

Karolina: It took me quite a while to realise that maybe I do belong here. When my internship came to an end, I knew I couldnt go back to the Czech Republic. I was amazed by the science Rons group was doing and the opportunities to learn and to contribute in a much bigger way.

From the very first contact, the feeling was mutual: this is the kind of person I want to work with. After a six-month internship in Professor Ron Heerens group at the AMOLF institute, Karolina Skraskova knew she couldnt return to the Czech Republic, where she had origi-nally started her PhD. When Heeren offered her a new posi-tion, she gladly accepted. In her final year the entire research group moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht, and this is where, on 3 March 2016, she defended her PhD thesis.

Ron: Luckily we found NWO money, so I was able to offer her a PhD position here.

Karolina: My PhD consisted of different projects, most of them focused on the study of lipids in the brain tissue using mass spectrometry imaging. I liked the way Ron guided me: giving me space to explore and adjust the research accordingly. I could always lay my cards on the table and we would discuss everything. Hes very enthusiastic and open, and that inspired me a lot. It was a scientific crush.

Ron: I had the same feeling actually, just as I do with others in my group. Thats an important characteristic of a good team. Of course you need to be smart to do scientific research, but above all you need to be passionate about it and able to translate that drive to a bigger audience. Thats what I recognised immedi-ately in Karolina. And with free spirits like her, you need to give them some space to explore. That results in the type of research that benefits our whole group.

The move Karolina: I really enjoyed my PhD, but I had a hard time when our group moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht. I felt at home in Amsterdam and had a group of close friends there. The fact that I had to move was hard to accept in the beginning. >>

Ron Heeren (1964) was appointed university professor in Maastricht in September 2014. He leads the Department of Imaging Mass Spectrometry at the Maastricht Multimodal Molecular Imaging institute (M4I). His group was part of the FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam until September 2014.


Ron: Nobody was really forced to move, but for the stage her research was in, it was much better to do so. And I think her research ultimately did reap the benefits of the transfer.

Karolina: I found the year I spent in Maastricht difficult mostly because Ron had more on his mind than usual. As a result, I felt he wasnt managing the group as well as he used to before the relocation. I can see now that had I expressed those feelings more clearly, things could have worked out better for me. But my reaction was exactly the opposite: I isolated myself and focused on finishing my PhD within a year.

Ron: I blame myself for not seeing that she needed more attention than I gave her. We spoke about that in the end.

Karolina: And I left that meeting with peace of mind. The fact that Ron acknowledged that the last year of my PhD wasnt an easy one was all I needed to hear from him.

The PhD defence Ron: Originally there were two more projects that I would have loved Karolina to incorporate in her thesis.

Karolina:But I didnt want to wait another six months to finally be able to live with my partner. So at some point I told Ron, This is my thesis, and I got the impression that he was disappointed.

Ron: I thought it was good enough, but I knew she could do better. I asked her, Is good enough okay for you?, and she said Yes. Shes a marathon runner, you know: very focused. When she sees the finish line, she accelerates; she wanted to finish. But if she had added that extra chapter, Im certain it would have been a cum laude PhD.

Karolina: I really enjoyed the defence. I actually love giving presentations and talking about my passions, and I felt quite confident towards the big day.

Ron: She told her story well and handled the questions accordingly. There was the independent researcher she had become in the past three years. Shes an excellent communicator and thats one of the keys to success.

Karolina: Ron is a very good speaker himself. I learned from him that its important to be able to advertise your work.

The future Karolina: Im a pharmacist and have always had a strong passion for medicinal plants. Ive been dreaming of setting up a business around them for years now. But I also have a couple of research ideas. For example, Im very enthusiastic about plant neurobiology a relatively new field of study on how plants interact with their environment and with each other. It basically brings together brain research and plants, my two passions. I might apply for a postdoc at the university in Tasmania, but time will tell how everything comes together.

Ron: In my speech at her PhD defence I described Karolina as a born researcher, with a broad perspective and the knowledge and skills to take up any research topic. But you need to be passionate about it. If shes most passionate about growing apples in Tasmania, thats what she has to do. Whatever the choice, Im convinced it will be a success. As long as she stays open about her feelings, that is. So Im waiting for her first blog post from Downunder.


Discussion

/ Road-blocks to peace /

Debate between Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors Haim Divon and Nabil Abuznaid >>


It would be almost comical if it wasnt so sad: how inevitably an interview with Haim Divon and Nabil Abuznaid descends into a verbal duel, from petty squabbling to serious recriminations and back again. The ambassadors disagree on just about everything, be it respectfully, diplomatically. The interview precedes the debate with students as part of the Ambassador Lectures later that evening. The two men are surrounded by their advisers, ringed in turn by uniformed security guards.

Both are gloomy about the present situation. Yes, there is a Roadmap to Peace, which sketches out the route leading to a peaceful solution. And yes, the objectives are clear: no more violence, no more settlements, and recognition of Israels right to exist and the establish-ment of a viable Palestinian state: the two-state solution. But Divon is disappointed. We all want peace, but theres no process; were at a standstill. Abuznaid: I can assure you: there is a process, but there is no peace. Divon: No, were stuck. Nothings happening, and thats frustrating.

Viable state So which obstacle has to be removed first? The question immediately throws fuel on the fire. Our leaders need to talk to one another without making demands in advance, says Divon, something his Prime Minister Netanyahu has often proposed. As difficult and painful as it is, you have to return to the negotia-tion table. Talk to one another, or yell if necessary thats what Id suggest to Prime Minister Abbas. Ramallah is only 20 minutes away. Theres no other option. Why is that not happening? Abuznaid makes no secret of it: the Israeli settlements. Theres simply not enough room left over for Palestine. How can you say you want two states, he asks, agitated, and at the same time chip away at the West Bank until theres almost nothing left? The settlement policy is an obstacle to peace. Israel first has to put a stop to this form of expansion, as a gesture of goodwill.

Settlements The settlement policy is, in Divons view, one of the issues that need talking about. You first have to build trust. Only then can a dynamic arise with ideas and points for negotiation. Israel, too, he suggests, could come up with all sorts of preconditions. We could say, Palestinian Authority, stop the terrorist attacks. And sort out your relationship with Hamas, otherwise there can be no agreement with half of the Palestinian population. But we dont say that. Everything is on the table. Sometimes I get the impression the settlements are just a convenient excuse.

So far talking has achieved little, retorts Abuznaid. Talks have been going on since the Oslo Accords in 1993. But in the meantime, six times more settle-ments have been established. Hamas has a point here when they ask us, are you insane? Look how many

Nabil Abuznaid (1954) has been head of the Palestinian representation in the Netherlands since 2009. He was adviser to the leader and later presi-dent of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, and was a member of the Palestin-ian delegation for peace talks. Abuznaid trained as a political scientist and wrote his PhD disserta-tion, From confrontation to negotiations, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Is peace possible in Israel and Palestine? There is a roadmap to a peaceful solution, the destination being two viable states but negotiations are at a standstill. The ambas-sadors of the two countries to the Netherlands recently debated the issues in Maastricht. According to Haim Divon, the Israeli ambassador, Our leaders need to talk to each other. But while theyve been talking, says Nabil Abuznaid, head of the Palestinian Mis-sion, six times more settlements have been established.

Cover image by Hugo Thomassen


checkpoints have been set up since then, how much land has been lost! People are losing faith in the possibility of a viable state. It is also not true, he says, that talking is in short supply. The international community, including Israels friends, keep on asking them to stop the expansion, but they dont listen. If you want to talk, put the expansion on hold for 60 days. Its not an excuse but a genuine obstacle to peace.

Missiles Its catchy these days to carry on about the settlements, Divon responds. Lets look at the Gaza Strip, where all Israeli settlements have been removed. What do we get in return? A barrage of missiles from Hamas, instead of them building in the area. The settlements are not the obstacle. Divon continues to hammer on this point. Putting each other under pressure doesnt work. Youve got to talk to one another, without preconditions. Lets call a spade a spade.

And so the discussion goes back and forth like a boxing match. On the allegation that Palestinian officials and their media incite violence (terrorist attacks, suicide bombers). On Europes decision to label products from the occupied West Bank. Divon: Thats pure discrimi-nation and will lead to a boycott of all Israeli products. On the Netherlands support for Israel. Abuznaid: True friends dont let their friends get behind the wheel after theyve been drinking. Divon: Not a single friend of ours, including the Netherlands, sees us as a drunk driver.

Good leaders Its the million-dollar question: how to overcome the mutual hatred? Leadership is the answer, according to Abuznaid. Not stupid leaders, who lead their countries into war. We need good leaders like your former Prime Minister Rabin. Divon: Its also about the people. Theres not enough cooperation. When you get to know one another, friendship arises of its own accord. He remains optimistic. Think about Europe 70 years ago. Who would have thought Germany would end up as one of our greatest friends? Abuznaid: This conflict was created by people and has to be solved by people. It cant go on forever.

Despite their verbal duels, the ambassadors get along well and are keen to set an example. When I go to receptions, the ambassadors of most Arab countries ignore me, says Divon. Then they see me talking with Nabil. Abuznaid: We were both born in the middle of the conflict and talk about it on a personal level. Its our responsibility to help solve it.


The Maastricht Study, launched in 2010, reveals that the number of people in the preliminary phase of diabetes is much high-er than initially thought: roughly a million people in the Netherlands alone. Were living in a time in which we can justifiably call diabetes an epi-demic, says Professor Coen Stehouwer, the director of the unique study. The researchers suspect that, beyond life-style-related factors, other factors are at play here.

The study will run until 2019, but the preliminary results are unequivocal.

Euregion

/ Tackling the diabetes epidemic /


Weve now collected data from more than 7,000 of the total of 10,000 participants in the Maas-tricht-Heuvelland region, says Professor Coen Stehouwer, the director of the study. So far this has yielded about 70 terabytes of data, which is a truly remarkable amount. When you consider that just one terabyte 1,000 gigabytes would cover every piece of text in a large university library, you can just imagine how much data were talking about.

It is the combination of three qualities, in Stehouwers view, that makes the Maastricht Study so unique. First, including such a large number of participants both with and without type 2 diabetes allows us to study the stages of diabetes and its complications in detail. In addition, were mapping practically all of the many possible causes and effects of the disease. And finally, were making use of a wide range of sometimes very sophisticated research techniques. When you look at it this way, no other study in the world is compara-ble with the Maastricht Study.

Extensive testing The 10,000 participants roughly a third of whom have been diagnosed with diabetes are being followed closely over a period of at least 10 years. Every participant undergoes extensive testing, Stehouwer explains. We have a dedicated research centre in Maastricht-Randwyck where we examine their physical and mental health, their fitness and their lifestyles. And every year we contact the participants again to find out how their health is progressing.

Striking results One of the tools used in the Maastricht Study is an advanced three-dimensional pedometer. Participants wear this for eight full days in a row, which allows us to analyse their patterns of movement in detail. What were finding is that the average person in South Limburg spends nine hours a day sitting down; actually not much longer than people elsewhere. But all that sitting turns out to be strongly correlated with worse health. And exercising for half an hour a day doesnt make up for it sitting is intrinsically bad, says Stehouwer. However, whats striking about our most recent data is that it suggests that if you replace half an hour a day of sitting with walking, climbing stairs or similar activities, you can reduce the risk of diabetes by 20 percent.

Pre-diabetes Another important finding is that the number of people in the preliminary phase of diabetes pre-dia-betes, as its known is much higher than initially thought. Were living in a time in which we can justifiably call diabetes an epidemic. The number of

people with diabetes or pre-diabetes is now double what it was 10 or 15 years ago. Were talking about roughly a million people in the Netherlands alone. So it seems very likely that, beyond lifestyle-related factors, there are other factors at play here. We think that stress, environmental pollution and the inhalation of toxins may play important roles in contributing to the development of diabetes. Still, Stehouwer continues, even if you discount all that, it still doesnt fully explain the drastic increase in the prevalence of diabetes. So there have to be other causes too; causes that are as yet unknown to us.

Given the epidemic proportions of the disease and the fact that the majority of people with pre-diabetes go on to develop full-blown diabetes, its essential that we gain more insight into the contributing processes. If we really want to do something about this epidemic, as a society we should focus on the large group of people with pre-diabetes; for instance, by means of screening. Diabetes has a hugely detrimental effect on quality of life. Around half of patients develop classic symptoms like cardiovascular disease, and around three quarters of those eventually die from it. Not to mention complications that have more recently come to light, such as accelerated cognitive deterioration and depression. Although their effects are not yet clear, theyre likely to have a big impact too.

Personal lifestyle advice Researchers involved in the Maastricht Study will continue collecting data in the years to come. The project employs 250 people, including 25 PhD candidates. But science is not the only beneficiary; the study also has value for the participants themselves and for the region. The results are communicated to both participants and their GPs, and participants can request tailored lifestyle advice. Stehouwer: We hope the data from the Maastricht Study will help to turn the tide of the diabetes epidemic. After all, the knowledge acquired will be put to good use in the development of new methods of prevention, diagnostics and treatment of chronic diseases, in particular diabetes and cardiovascular disease.


With great enthusiasm he unveils the latest addition to their collection, which his wife picked up for five euros in the local second-hand store: a rectangular woven basket with matching primitive maracas. I was thrilled when she brought this home, he beams. I saw something like it once in a museum in Budapest. Its probably from Venezuela or Suriname. Schneider smiles: I like wickerwork, but Ren really likes it. Im always amazed by what people can make with such simple materials, he continues. The purchase illustrates one of the sides of collecting that so appeals to them: you can often find very beautiful things for very little money.

First find They still recall how they discovered the Tongeren flea market in 1982. Wed just moved to Maastricht, and we found this mask with cowrie shells, explains Schneider. When we got it home we found out it was used for initiation rituals in Congo. That was just fantastic. It marked the start of an immense collection of diverse, ethnographic artefacts. Nepal, Tibet, Africa, South America their place of origin matters less than their authenticity, and of course their aesthetics. Its all well and good to find beautiful things, but you have to be able to recognise them, says Schneider. We knew next to nothing when we started out. Were getting better at it though.

Retirement project For her inaugural lecture, Schneider was given a ghurra: a carved wooden sculpture with a round hole, used by Himalayan peoples in the process of churning butter. We really liked it, so we bought a few more, and over the years weve been given others, she says. >>

From the moment you step inside, it is clear youve entered the domain of collectors. Law professors Ren de Groot and Hildegard Schneider collect everything from old books, shells, ostrich eggs and fossils to tex-tiles and old-fashioned crocheting. But their special passion is reser- ved for non-European art and utensils: over the last 35 years, they have amassed an over-whelming collection of tribal art. Were not great at setting limits, says De Groot. Thats a nice quote, isnt it?

Text Femke KoolsPhotography Loraine Bodewes

Off the job

Im always amazed by what

people can make with such simple materials.


Professor of European Union Law and European Migration Law Hildegard Schneider and professor of Comparative Law and Private

International Law Ren de Groot

/ The collectors /


Now we have over a hundred, adds De Groot. Sometimes they buy entire collections, such as a series of wooden dolls made by the Guna, an indigenous people of Panama. De Groot: We saw them in a shop window, and it turned out to be a 360-piece collection with dolls of all shapes and sizes. Theyre supposed to be placed by a sick persons bedside to help them get well again. They often have this very characteristic nose and a tie and hat. There are no good books on these, so thats something I plan to write when I retire. He can barely contain his enthusiasm: Itll mean going to the San Blas Islands in Panama, and to museums in Gothenburg and Oxford where they have beautiful collections.

Candy store They are not big believers in the purported powers of their collection. An African colleague who came to visit said he had to work hard not to be afraid of all the ghosts in the house, says Schneider. Instead, their interest is largely scholarly: with every new purchase, they itch to know where it comes from, how old it is, what it was used for and more. It challenges you to learn new things, and the more you have of a particular object, the more interesting it becomes. Karavanserai, a shop that sells indigenous art in Maastricht, is a veritable candy store: this is where they bought, among other things, the headdress finished with striking feathers and a matching breastplate that stands in pride of place behind the dining table. It was made by the Naga, a headhunting people in northern India.

The artefacts are often fragile and are becoming increasingly difficult to find. While De Groot and Schneider mainly collect for fun, they see it as an added bonus if their collection also contributes to conservation efforts. This was one of their motives to begin collecting old-fashioned crocheting: these works can be just as interesting, after all, as the textile arts of indigenous peoples.

TEFAF The value of the objects is also not their primary concern. I was at an auction in the 90s and bid on 38 pairs of Oriental shoes, says De Groot. When Hildegard found out she asked, What are we going to do with all those? Worst-case scenario, they go in the dressing-up box, I said. But there were beautiful woven shoes from Japan in there, and special shoes for Chinese women with bound feet. Beautiful! Schneider: Later we saw similar ones at TEFAF. My first thought was, Are they the same ones we have?

For birthdays and holidays, they traditionally give each other yet another item for the collection. De Groot picks up a beautiful woven basket: Our son recently gave this to us; hes started collecting these sorts of objects himself now. Our daughter recently asked, very delicately, if were expecting her to keep all these things when were gone. Thats not necessary as long as they sell them wisely.


Doctoral research conducted by Esme Bijnens (Hasselt University/Maastricht University) has shown that the more exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, the higher the chance of low birth weight in twins. These results, based on data from the East Flanders Twin Registry, reveal that good air quality and green urban planning have positive health effects both at birth and later in life.

Although the effects of air pollution on adult health have been investigated in previous studies, little was known about the influence of environmental factors at the earlier stages of life. A research team from the universities of Hasselt and Maastricht investigated how air pollution, traffic pollution and access to green areas during pregnancy influenced birth weight and age biomarkers in placental tissue. The researchers focused primarily on twins. Studying twins allows us to distinguish between the relative importance of genes and the environment on these biomarkers, explains Bijnens.

The study, which included 4,760 twins, revealed that air pollution is an important risk factor. Bijnens: The more exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, the higher the risk is of low birth weight in twins, in proportion to the duration of the pregnancy. We found that an increase in air pollution of 10 micrograms per cubic metre led to a 34% increase in the number of children with low birth weight.


In August 2015, alum Dirk Janssen was appointed as the Dutch ambassador to Panama. Via Business Economics at Maastricht University (UM), a stint in a consulting firm and a career at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Janssen ultimately ended up in the interna-tional environment to which he most aspired.

All Janssen wanted after high school was to get as far away from The Hague as possible. I wanted to start a new chapter, break free of the city I grew up in. It came down to either Maastricht or Groningen, and ultimately I went with Maastricht, mainly because of the education system. The small-scale character and the philosophy of Problem-Based Learning really appealed to me. And although I was born and raised in The Hague, my family comes from South Limburg, so I knew the area well.

Enthusiasm Janssen studied Organisation Sciences at the economics faculty: a combination of economics, psychology and sociology. He revelled in the enthusiasm of his lecturers and the discussions in the tutorials. I made friends for life there. In my memory it was always summer and we sat drinking Wieckse Witte at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouweplein every day. It was a wonderful phase.

/ I have to be able to talk about anything, from football to art /

Alum Dirk Janssen

Text Graziella RunchinaPhotography Dirk Janssen

Visit us at www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/alumni


International issues After graduating cum laude, Janssen was tossing up between consulting and a diplomatic career. He went with consulting but it quickly proved to be the wrong choice. It felt so limiting, working only in the companys interest, he explains. Ive always been interested in social and international issues, and it hit me that Id rather work in the publics interest. He soon joined the Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he spent 16 years working in various positions. I feel at home in an international environment, and was keen to go full international. He got the chance in 2015. Every year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appoints a number of ambassadors from outside the ministry. I applied, and ended up being appointed to Panama.

Skyscraper Together with his wife and two sons, aged 11 and 9, Janssen now lives on the 17th floor of the tallest building in Panama City. From

there they have a view of the Pacific, and the jungle is just around the corner. Panama City is a busy place with lots of skyscrapers, but also a beautiful old Spanish colonial district, he says. Were really enjoying living here, although our sons had to get used to English at the international school here.

Janssen has settled into his new role well. Theres so much variation in the work of an ambassador. I talk to incredibly many people: politi-cians, businesspeople, scientists, diplomats, ministers and journal-ists. Usually in Spanish, which Im getting better at. I visit Dutch companies and entrepreneurs, but also other people, such as Dutch prisoners. I give speeches, and there are regular delegations visiting from the Netherlands, Curaao, Aruba and Sint Maarten.

Generalist When hes not on the road Janssen is at the embassy, largely occupied with economic issues. Every now and then something suddenly comes back to me from my studies. For instance, we recently had a dinner at the residence with a Nobel laureate and some Panamanian professors. The theme was innovation in Panama, and I was able to contribute to the discussion because I specialised in innovation management at UM. But diplomacy is primarily about being a generalist: you have to know a little about a lot of subjects, and be prepared to talk about anything, from football to art.

Seizing opportunities The ambassadors main objective is to help Dutch companies capitalise on the opportunities offered by Panama. Panama is one of the most prosperous countries in South America and has the fastest growing economy in America, he explains. With the Panama Canal and the largest airport in the region, its known as the hub of the Americas the gateway to Latin America, just as the Netherlands is the gateway to Europe. Thats a nice parallel to work with. Here they really admire the port of Rotterdam, and the Netherlands is a great example when it comes to water management too. Theres still a lot to be done in that area here. My task is to translate that goodwill into commissions for Dutch companies.

New Panama Canal Janssen is looking forward to the opening of the new Panama Canal, which is scheduled for 26 June. Its going to be a historic day for Panama. The new canal will have a major impact on global trade flows; it will give passage to ships that can carry three times as many containers than those that fit through the existing canal. The Panamanian government hopes the canal will become not just a toll way for ships, but also a centre of logistic services. That will open up all sorts of new opportunities for Dutch businesses, and also for the closer parts of our Kingdom. Its great having a front seat to all this.


/ Human resource navigator /

Alum Leonr Orbn de Lengyelfalva

Leonr Orbn de Lengyelfalva (1979) studied Psychology at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Maastricht University from 1997 to 2003. She has held various positions in human resources, including as a training consultant and talent recruiter at Philips. Since 2014 she has been Head of Learning & Develop-ment and Organisation Development at TomTom.

Alumni


The informal culture took some getting used to, but it wasnt long before she swapped her smart trousers for jeans and sneakers. A graduate of psychology at Maastricht University, Leonr Orbn de Lengyelfalva is now Head of Learning and Development at TomTom a role in which she still draws on skills she acquired during her studies: I know how to take the sting out of a conversation with an angry employee.

Text Hans van VinkeveenPhotography Hugo Thomassen

A patient threatens you with a knife. How do you, as the therapist, turn this into a safe situation? This example of Problem-Based Learning struck Orbn during her studies in Psychology at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Ive never experienced a threatening situation like that at work. But its comparable with a discussion with angry employees; Ive learnt how to take the sting out of it and help them release their anger in a respectful way.

Orbn chose the programme for what she calls its human aspect. She specialised in Clinical Psychology, but discovered that treating patients wasnt for her. After a few sessions Id get impatient and think, come on, get it together. What stayed with her, however, were the lessons on conversation techniques. How do you build up trust such that people are willing to talk about difficult things? How do you bring them around to a certain understanding? These tech-niques have helped me a lot in my career.

A tin of tomato soup It was also the desire to be independent that brought Orbn from Oss to Maastricht in 1997. For her, the city is synonymous with freedom and autonomy. I learnt very quickly to stand on my own two feet. Figuring things out on minimal funding: cooking, finding out what makes you happy, managing your studies. Learning from your mistakes and clumsiness. The first year was a huge learning curve.

Fortunately, she had a fantastic click with her flatmates, and the four girls, all Health Sciences students, became friends for life. Although they have since spread out all over the world, they still get together at least once a year. We went to lectures together, shut ourselves away together before exams with a tin of tomato soup. She recalls one time when they were so busy chatting away on the bus that they missed their stop and ended up in the depot in Gulpen. Other times, theyd come home from a night out and sit around playing Risk until the sun came up.

Jeans and sneakers After a brief stint in which she aspired to be an air traffic controller at Schiphol, even sitting a series of tough tests for the job, she took her first steps in the field of Human Resources. This turned out to have much in common with her studies. As a training consultant at Philips, Orbn served as a mediator between staff members and assisted managers and employees in their professional development. Later she became a recruiter in the same firm. I was fascinated by job interviews, trying to uncover what drove people. What were their ambitions, and did they fit in with the team?

At TomTom a place for creative people who are passionate about their work, according to Orbn she seems to have found her dream job. The informal culture took a bit of getting used to, she says, but it didnt take me long to trade in my trousers for jeans and sneakers. On being greeted by TomTom founder Harold Goddijn for the first time, she turned around, thinking he must be greeting an acquaint-ance behind her. This illustrates the companys sense of openness and freedom: You can drop in on anyone, and have all the space you need to run with your ideas. That said, everyone, right down to the interns, is given real responsibility from day one. Theres no micro-manager above you.

Test driver Its the kind of work environment that poses a challenge for HR professionals. Dealing with such clever, stubborn people calls for a different approach. They know a lot more than I do about their field, especially the engineers. Its about asking the right questions and having them figure things out for themselves. The same holds for coaching teams. I give them the objective, but they decide how to go about achieving it. Then I just keep on asking questions through-out the process, and point them in the right direction when needed.

Orbns loyalty to TomTom extends beyond business hours. An avid motorcyclist, she was asked to serve as a test driver in the develop-ment of Rider, a navigation system specially designed for motorcy-clists. Touring around on her motorbike, she identifies teething problems and, together with the other test drivers, gives feedback via the internal forum. TomTom also has internal communities for navigation systems aimed at runners and truck drivers. So in addition to the job I am hired for, I am helping in the development of the actual product. It may only be a small contribution, but that doesnt make me any less proud.


Severely premature babies have lower odds of survival and are much more likely than others to develop congenital abnormal-ities in the lungs, intestines or brain. Thanks in part to a gift from a private benefactor, researchers at Maastricht University are studying biomarkers that could help to diag- nose or predict the development of intra- amniotic infections frequently implicated in premature births. The team, which includes multidisciplinary researchers, PhD candi-dates and doctors, is led by Dr Tim Wolfs from the Paediatrics Laboratory. They hope to use the results to develop new techniques to reduce the severity of or even prevent the negative effects of premature birth.


The tenth annual Maastricht University Dinner was held in April in the ballroom of the provincial government building on the Maas. With 200 guests from 27 participating companies and institutions as well as UM, the dinner provides an opportunity to consolidate existing partnerships and to develop new ones between university and private partners.

This years guest of honour was Peter Vandermeersch, editor in chief of the NRC Handelsblad newspaper. In his speech, entitled Journalism is dead, long live

The University Fund is committed to supporting a thriving academic commu-nity that fosters strong educational and scholarly achievements. The fund has therefore, since 2015, been providing support for the initiatives of students who wish to contribute to the develop-ment of this community, as well as organising events that bring together students from different disciplines and associations. Further, the University Fund aims to raise awareness among students, as it does among alumni, of the opportunity to give a gift to academia. All new students were therefore invited this year to become friends of the fund, which resulted in the registration of 575 new donors.


The quality of life among people with dementia in a nursing home is just as high as for those still living at home. The mood of people with dementia, more than physical wellbeing or cognitive abilities, appears to be the key factor when it comes to quality of life. This was the conclusion of doctoral research conducted by Hanneke Beerens at Maastricht University. The Netherlands is the all-round champion when it comes to dementia care, says the researcher, who also worked as a nurse for elderly clients and gathered data at the Academic Collaborative Centre on Care for Older People in South Limburg.

Beerenss research involved two main studies. The first was conducted in eight European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Sweden and Spain) and surveyed the quality of life among people with dementia and their caregivers in nursing homes as well as people with family caregivers at home. On average, people with dementia in Sweden, the Netherlands and England scored higher on quality of life than participants elsewhere.The second study involved observation of the quality of life of 115 nursing home residents, predominantly in the Dutch province of Limburg. The results showed that a positive mood is associated with higher quality of life, and vice versa: a negative mood is associated with lower quality of life. A positive mood was associated in particular with those involved in outdoor activities and social interaction.


ProfileEducation and research at Maastricht Uni-versity is organised primarily on the basis of faculties, schools and institutes.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Politics and Culture in Europe Science, Technology and Society Arts, Media and Culture Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development

Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM) School for Cardiovascular Diseases (CARIM) School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI) School for Mental Health and Neuro- science (MHeNS) School for Oncology and Developmental Biology (GROW) School of Health Professions Education (SHE)

Faculty of Humanities and Sciences Department of Data Science and Know- ledge Engineering (DKE) International Centre for Integrated assessment and Sustainable development (ICIS) Maastricht Graduate School of Govern- ance (MGSoG) Top Institute for Evidence Based Education (TIER) University College Maastricht Maastricht Science Programme

Faculty of Law Institute for Globalisation and Inter- national Regulation (IGIR) Institute for Transnational Legal Research (METRO) Institute for Corporate Law, Governance and Innovation Policies (ICGI) Maastricht Centre for European Law (MCEL) Maastricht Centre for Human Rights Maastricht Centre for Taxation (MCT) Maastricht European Private Law Institute (MEPLI) Maastricht Graduate School of Law Montesquieu Institute Maastricht

Faculty of Psychology and Neuro-science Graduate School of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience Clinical Psychological Science Cognitive Neuroscience (CN) Experimental Psychopathology (EPP) Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology Work & Social Psychology Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre (M-BIC)

School of Business and Economics Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE) Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) Network Social Innovation (NSI) Limburg Institute of Financial Economics (LIFE) The Maastricht Academic Centre for Research in Services (MAXX) Accounting, Auditing & Information Management Research Centre (MARC) European Centre for Corporate Engage- ment (ECCE) United Nations University Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innova- tion and Technology (UNU-MERIT) Social Innovation for Competitiveness, Organisational Performance and human Excellence (NSCOPE) Marketing-Finance Research Lab

Interfaculty institutes The Maastricht Forensic Institute (tMFI) MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine The Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE) Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4I) Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio) Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage (MACCH) Centre for European Research in Maastricht (CERIM) Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility (ITEM)

ColophonPublisher Maastricht University

Chief Editor Annelotte Huiskes

Editorial Board Luc Soete (President), Teun Dekker, Diana Dolmans, Fons Elbersen, Ad van Iterson, Jos Kievits, Alexander Sack, Hildegard Schneider, Manon van Engeland, Sophie Vanhoonacker.

Texts Jos Cortenraad, Femke Kools, Annelotte Huiskes, Jolien Linssen, Graziella Runchina, Hans van Vinkeveen.

PhotographyDick van Aalst (p23), Loraine Bodewes (spread,32), Philip Driessen (p4,27,42), Harry Heuts (p11,20), Dirk Janssen (p36), iStockphoto (p35), Herman van Ommen (p11), Rafal Philippen (p30), Joey Roberts (p4,42), Sacha Ruland (p3,7,10,11), Arjen Schmitz (p16), Hugo Thomassen (cover,p38), Paul van der Veer (p24)

Translations and English editing Alison Edwards

Graphic concept and design Zuiderlicht Maastricht

Print Drukkerij Tuijtel, Hardinxveld-Giessendam

Maastricht University magazine is published in February, June and October. It is sent on demand to UM alumni and to external relations.

Editorial OfficeMarketing & CommunicationsPostbus 616, 6200 MD MaastrichtT +31 43 388 5238 / +31 43 388 5222E [email protected] ISSN 2210-5212

Online webmagazine.maastrichtuniversity.nl

Facebookfacebook.com/maastrichtuniversitymagazine

44UMagazine / October 2015

3301.15 / UMagazine

Blow upWant to know which part of

Maastricht is zoomed in on? Visit the

Facebook page of the UMagazine.

Facebook.com/

maastrichtuniversitymagazine

Documents

UM Magazine June 2016